Fake Funerals in South Korea

Despite its booming economy, the people of South Korea have never been more unhappy. With an average of 43 suicides per day, it's the suicide capital of the developed world and Asia's unhappiest nation.
Unsurprisingly, this apparent paradox has provoked much soul-searching within South Korea. A result of this is the "Well Dying"—or "Near Death"—movem...

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Despite its booming economy, the people of South Korea have never been more unhappy. With an average of 43 suicides per day, it's the suicide capital of the developed world and Asia's unhappiest nation.

Unsurprisingly, this apparent paradox has provoked much soul-searching within South Korea. A result of this is the "Well Dying"—or "Near Death"—movement, which aims to give people a little taste of death to replenish their appetite for life.

Perhaps the most bizarre manifestation of this movement is the rise of "fake funeral" services, where participants are lectured by a philosophical guru and told to write their own eulogies, before spending 30 minutes meditating inside a coffin.

VICE Japan correspondent Yuka Uchida headed to Seoul to try to experience her own "death" at a fake funeral ceremony.